Snow Fall
by Firebird'sDaughter
Summary: Lies accompany status, even in the illustrious Kuchiki family. They thought he was gone. They thought it was behind them. But some secrets refuse to stay buried... Someone is bent on bringing the family to it's knees and exposing every dark truth. Who is this man and those who serve him? And WHY does he want revenge on Byakuya? (Rated M for the Prologue, and maybe later Chapters)
1. Prologue

_**This is something I came up with a while ago, but I just recently though 'hey, this is developed enough to actually write!' So, here ya go, kids, please enjoy!**_

_**Okay, maybe not the animal cruelty part, but you know what I mean...**_

_**WARNING: SEVERE ANIMAL ABUSE. I assure you, the deer dies soon after it's witnessed ordeal.**_

* * *

He knew he wasn't supposed to be out this late, but the same went for his brother. They would both be in trouble with Grandfather if they were caught.

Still...

A rustling in the bushes made him freeze, but a small fox was the only thing that appeared. He sighed, going back to tracking his twin. Swallowing, he tried to remember everything that horrid girl had told him about stealth - try as he might, he could not deny that she was the only one who ever had any luck sneaking up on someone as powerful has his brother. He peered carefully through the moon shadows of the trees, hoping to see his brother.

This was the sixth night in a row he had seen his twin sneak out the front door of the manor into the darkness, and now, he was determined to find out what he was doing, for better or worse.

Suddenly, he felt the familiar prickling that usually alerted him to his brother's presence rose in his chest, and he put even more focus into silence. There was a clearing in the trees just ahead, and the moonlight streamed in, illuminating it as clearly as the sun would. He moved forward carefully, staying in the dense foliage and trying to find a place to peek through. Finally, he came across a hiding spot beside a large tree, and risked a look through a hole in some leaves.

What he saw there made him sick.

The grass was slick with blood, and little piles of bones and what he thought were animal corpses littered the ground, glistening revoltingly in the light. At the centre of the round clearing was a deer that was still in it's death throes, it's cries piteous and weak. There was **something**, a dark figure, looming over it, angled just so that it fell into shadow in the intense moonlight. As he watched, something sharp glittered in the figure's grip, and then the hand was brought in a quick line across the deer's stomach, blood oozing from the cut. The animal cried out in pain, and the figure laughed, **laughed**, seemingly enjoying it's agony. When he heard the harsh, bone-chilling laugh, he couldn't hold back a small gasp.

Unfortunately, the sound did not go unnoticed.

The figure's head snapped up, and it rose, taking a step towards his hiding spot. It's hands and front were covered in blood, as was the knife it held. But it was the face that scared him - cold, hateful eyes and malicious, unsympathetic expression. On **his** face.

On his **twin brother's** face.

He didn't wait to see more. He turned and fled, faster than he had ever gone in his life. If she had been there, he was certain he could have outpaced her many times over, just to get away from that glade and the sight of his... His...

He didn't know what he was anymore.

While he made it home without incident, his sleep was fitful and filled with nightmares of dying, tortured creatures and blood. So much **blood**. When the sun broke through his window the next morning, he had barely slept at all, and was still rubbing his eyes when he sat up, stumbling out of bed to the mirror that hung from his wall. But once his vision cleared there, he saw something on the floor behind him that made his face go pale, and he turned slowly to see if it was really there.

On his bedroom floor, bloodied and mangled, was the fox he had seen the night before.

The message was clear - his brother had seen him, had **known** it was him, and was not afraid to threaten him to keep his silence. Something clenched in his stomach. They were just children, boys. What could his twin **really** do to him if he went to Grandfather? But to betray his own brother... He closed his eyes against the image of the dying deer, hugging himself tightly. By the time he heard the servants calling for him, he had made his decision.

It was a choice Byakuya Kuchiki would regret for the rest of his life.

* * *

_**Word to the wise - you figure out that your brother is a fledgling psychopath and torturing animals? TELL SOMEONE. PLEASE. There's a good reader. Anyway, here's the prologue. Chapter One will be up in a bit, not to worry.**_


	2. The New Girl

_**Aaaaand... After that extremely intense Prologue, we have this. Which is less intense. Mostly.**_

* * *

"You're still awake, Taichou?" Byakuya Kuchiki did not even bother turning-there were very few people who could walk into Kuchiki Manor without so much as a notice from the guards and servants, and Sixth Company Third Seat Kaito Nakimura was at the top of that list.

"Of course. We have a lot of work to do." The Third Seat folded his arms, leaning against the door frame.

"Except, you don't appear to be working much." Byakuya turned back to the picture of Hisana he had been staring at. There was no mockery or scolding in Kaito's voice. If anything, his subordinate's tone was sympathetic.

"... Kaito."

"Yes?"

"... They haven't... Returned, have they?" Kaito unfolded his arms, coming to stand beside his Captain.

"No. And if they did, we'd be able to handle them." He reached over and did something the rest of the Company would have thought impossible-he laid a hand on Byakuya's shoulder. "I'm not the same person I was back then, and neither are you." He sat down beside the Captain, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "It's been years. It's unlikely he's even **around** anymore, much less thinking about us." Oddly enough, Byakuya found the words extremely comforting. His gaze moved to the family portrait that adorned the wall of the same room-more specifically, the hole burned into one side of it.

"Yes. It would seem you are correct."

* * *

"I keep telling you, Rukia, you're overthinking things!"

"I am not! Kaito, tell him I'm not!" The Third Seat paused, holding up his hands.

"Whoa, whoa. Do **not** drag me into this." Renji and Rukia continued to glare at each other. "... **But**, I can tell you that it's best to leave Captain Kuchiki alone right now." They both looked at him, though Rukia threw Renji an 'I told you so' look. Kaito stepped between them, walking towards the gate.

"Oi! Nakimura!" At his Assistant Captain's call, he stopped. "What do you mean, it's best to leave him alone?" Kaito shrugged.

"Today is the anniversary of a very hard time in the Kuchiki family past." Both Assistant Captain's blinked, surprised.

"What? Then where are you off to?" Nakimura waved a hand.

"To do some of my own reflecting. After all, today also marks the fifty year anniversary of me getting my scars!" With that, he continued out of the courtyard; leaving the other two Soul Reapers to consider his statements. Kaito's scars were a certain level of famous in the sixth company. The right half of his body and face appeared to have been shredded by thousands of tiny, serrated razors. How his eye had escaped the treatment was anyone's guess, but they both stared out, calm and green, from beneath his long black hair. In reality, the scars were just as much a mystery as Kaito himself. It was said he had turned down numerous different offers of Assistant Captaincy in the interest of staying in the Sixth Company; and if there was something Renji knew first hand, it was Kaito's loyalty to their Captain.

It wouldn't have mattered if Byakuya Kuchiki was a two-headed garden slug-as long as he was giving orders, Kaito Nakimura would follow them.

"Huh. You ever get the feeling the two of them know something the rest of us don't?" He looked over at Rukia.

"What?"

"I mean, Kaito's always talking to Nii-sama behind closed doors. What if there's more going on than we know?"

"I'm going to stand here and wait until you realise how stupid that is."

"It's true! Doesn't it ever bother you?"

"Not really." He cracked his back, stretching. "Kaito's a cool guy. Besides, he's the Third Seat. He's got his own responsibilities!" She just shook her head, rolling her eyes.

"You're never going to learn."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means what you think it means!

"Augh! Stop pulling my hair!"

* * *

Not too far away, Kaito stood around a corner, his arms folded again, listening. He smiled a little, chuckling to himself.

"Thank whatever gods there are for you two." He straightened, running his fingers over the scar marking his cheekbone and sighing. He remembered the day he had received the scars clearly; flashes of blue light clouding his vision, that reitsu, that goddamn, fucking **laugh**...

Suddenly, he froze. Just for a second, he could have sworn he sensed it again-that tell-tale feeling of dread that always accompanied that man's presence. Then it was gone.

He shook his head, trying to clear it. He couldn't be here-**shouldn't **be. He suppressed a shiver and started down the street.

Even if he had seen the thin figure in the shadows, he probably would have dismissed her as paranoia getting the better of him.

* * *

They had hidden themselves well, in the darkest parts of the human world, where not even their most dedicated hunters would think to look for them.

Well, actually, he was fairly certain **one** of those hunters would even go to the depths of **Hell** to find them, but so far, he had not.

He leaned back on his high-backed chair, scowling thoughtfully. It had been years, **years** since they had last made a move, and he was certain that the time was coming again. After all, what was better than a fifty year anniversary? All he had to do was snap his fingers once and they were beside him, kneeling.

"You called, Master." He rose, taking a few steps toward the light pouring from the far mouth of the cave.

"Yes. It has been fifty years since we were cast from our home, dishonoured. I was thinking that the time has come to put our plan into action. We are fully prepared, are we not?"

"We are, sir. We only await your order."

"Very well, then." His dark purple eyes glared mercilessly through the darkness. "Let the games begin."

* * *

"Ichigo! Ichigo!" Tatsuki rapped hard on Ichigo Kurosaki's head. "Wake up!" He sat up quickly.

"Huh? What?"

"You fell asleep, stupid." He rubbed his eyes, standing.

"Is school over?"

"No! You're lucky it's still lunch!" He crossed to the window, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking out across the schoolyard. He stood in silence for a moment.

And then a petite, white haired girl slammed into him.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Seeing as how she was too small to harm anyone but herself by the collision, he held up his hands.

"Hey, it's fine. You okay?" She stepped back, rubbing her nose and looking up at him.

"Y-yeah." She was a pretty little thing, with ponytailed white hair, a small nose, and large, pale blue eyes. Catching her eye for a fraction of a second, Ichigo abruptly felt like the air was churning around him with the force of some great reitsu. Not enough to bowl him over, but enough to make him nervous. It lasted only a second-the strange girl looked away, and the feeling was gone. Orihime came running over.

"Ah! Yuki, you met Ichigo!" The girl, Yuki, looked at her feet and blushed.

"W-well, I wouldn't exactly call it '_meeting_'..." Orihime laughed and put and arm around her shoulders.

"Ah, it's okay." She looked at Ichigo. "This is Yuki Tanki. She just transferred here today." Ichigo grinned sheepishly at her.

"Hey. Uh... Nice to meet you I guess. Sorry about before." Yuki nodded, but then she and Orihime were set upon by Chizuru, and Tatsuki went after them to help, leaving Ichigo alone again.

Almost alone.

"You felt it?" He turned around just enough to look at Uryuu Ishida.

"What?"

"Come on, Kurosaki. Even **you** must have sensed the reitsu just now." Ichigo rolled his eyes at the dig, but remained serious.

"Yeah, I did. What do you think?" Uyruu pushed his glasses up his nose, looking towards the opposite wall.

"I'm not sure, but I do know this-her reitsu is very similar to a Soul Reaper's but not quite the same. There's a very minor variation that I can't quite pinpoint." The Quincy folded his arms.

"Huh." He looked back over where the new girl was talking with the girls. "It seemed vaguely Hollow to me." Uryuu made a noise behind him-and he couldn't resist a trouble as Ishida seemed to be grumbling that he'd noticed something first.

"You're right." It sounded like he was saying through his teeth. "There're echoes of Hollow in her power, but she's not like the Visoreds or the Arrancars. It's not quite enough for that." At that moment, Keigo Asano arrived, causing Uryuu to vanish from where he had been leaning on a desk behind Ichigo.

"Oi! Strawberry!" Ichigo groaned, turning back to the window, and pointedly ignoring all of Keigo's mad antics. Chad came over as well.

"Ichigo."

"Something weird about the new girl. Ishida and I noticed." He muttered under his breath, for once thankful Keigo's voice covered up the small conversation.

However, none of them noticed Yuki Tanki herself watching them from the other side of the room.

* * *

"She was really quiet, but I thought she was still very nice!" Orihime insisted after school, folding her arms.

"There's still the matter of her reitsu." Uryuu pointed out. "If she's got that much power, we shouldn't doubt she noticed **ours**." Orihime looked at the ground.

"But what if she's not evil? What if she's just been... Fighting a lot of Hollow recently?" Ichigo shook his head.

"I... Don't think that's how it works, Orihime."

"The Hollow power seemed to becoming from within her own." Chad put in quietly, and Uryuu nodded.

"It would be in our best interests to keep an eye on her."

"Oi!" They all turned, and were surprised to see Renji rushing toward them, Rukia close on his heels, both in gigai.

"Renji! Rukia! What are you two doing here?" The two Soul Reapers skidded to a halt.

"Soul Society sent us to check out a massive anomaly that occurred earlier today. Something happened inside a Senkeimon that opened right above Karakura town."

"Eh? What? You mean someone came here from the Soul Society?"

"No, that's just it. Everyone in the Soul Society who could open a Senkeimon in this fashion are accounted for. Kurostchi-taichou believes this one may have been forced open." Ichigo frowned.

"Forced-"

"This is none of your concern, Ichigo Kurosaki." At the new voice, they all looked back where Ruki and Renji had come from, and Ichigo's eyes widened.

Byakuya Kuchiki stood there, also in a gigai, his arms folded.

"Byakuya..." The Captain came over, refusing to register Ichigo's use of his first name.

"It is something the Soul Society is looking into. So far as we can tell, there is no direct threat to the town. You need not involve yourself." Ichigo groaned.

"He's never gonna change, is he..." Suddenly, he noticed Byakuya's eyes widen ever so slightly. "Huh?" Quickly, he followed the Captain's gaze, wondering what had surprised him.

Yuki Tanki was standing at the doors of the school, staring right back at Byakuya with a similar expression. Then, she turned and ran.

Byakuya was gone in the same instant, before anyone else of their group could even blink.

"Uh..." Renji began. "Who **was** that?" Uryuu pushed his glasses up again.

"New girl. Her name is Yuki Tanki. We knew she had high level reitsu, but..."

"They seemed to know each other." Rukia finished, staring after her brother. "Nii-sama... What is going on?"

* * *

Several miles away, Byakuya was asking Yuki a similar question.

"What are you doing here?"

"Is that the way you greet me? After all this time?" They were standing in a garden, and Yuki was kneeling before a mess of small white flowers, picking them into a bouquet one by one.

"I could have greeted you in a very different fashion. Are you forgetting what you did?" She rose, turning to him.

"Are we playing the blame game, Byakuya? Because I don't think **I'm** the only one at fault here." He flinched, ever so slightly, so she continued. "After all, only the person who lit the fire could have known how to avoid it."

"We both know perfectly well that he did not die in that fire, Yuki. Stop toying with me. Why. Are. You. Here?" She pressed her lips together, clutching the bouquet as if she herself were a bride.

"Why am I here? Isn't it obvious? **Revenge**." She crossed over to him, looking up to meet his eyes and holding out the bouquet. After a moment of hesitation, he reached over and out a hand over hers. She suddenly grabbed his wrist, scattering the flowers and dragging him down so that she could speak into his ear. "You took what was most precious to me, so it's only fair if **I** take what is most precious to **you**." She released him, and was gone before he could respond.

* * *

_**Hands up if you think Yuki Tanki is evil. Heh. You'll see, kiddies. You'll see...**_


End file.
